Free As I Fade (One Breath at a Time: Book 1) by Leilani Bennett Page B

that riddled my body.
    “ I have been checking in on you often. You are quite an interesting young lady.” I detected a cheeky sarcasm in his tone. The sound of his voice didn’t ring any bells. Although his voice held a fatherly inflection, I didn’t recognize him. He was not dressed like any doctor I had ever seen either.
    “ Sorry...I don’t remember you,” I said, forcing a smile and then closing my eyes. I tried to fish him out of my memory but came up blank.
    “ It’s okay. We had only spoken briefly. Actually, I did most of the talking, and you stared through me. I don’t blame you though...considering.”
    I followed his voice around the room behind me, sensing his every move. I listened to the sound of his footsteps clicking against the floor, and the water trickling into a glass. He continued to drone on about my condition, which only raised my blood pressure.
    I momentarily closed my eyes tighter, in my best attempt to tune him out. I wished it could have been as easy to shut off my hearing. At that point, I would not have minded suffering from half of the conditions that Helen Keller had. Deaf, mute, and—I won’t go there.
    From the inclined position of the bed, I turned toward the only window in the room. A delicate slice of light streamed through an outdated rolled-down shade. There was a dilapidated metal screen attached to the exterior of the window. From what I could see outside it was early morning, dark sky and raining hard. The sound of the rain resonated with a sense of loneliness and abandonment. What a surreal feeling it was to wake up in a hospital, especially in another country, completely alone!
    “So where am I?” I inquisitively asked. Duh! It was obvious where I was. “I mean, what hospital is this?” I added under my breath, “Jeez, my head is killing me.” Eyelids clinched, I lightly massaged my temples with both palms. The pain was unforgivable!
    “ Easy...you have stitches. Do you remember what happened to you?”
    I coughed, clearing my throat to speak. “No,” I said, stretching my neck in his direction as he made his way back to my bedside.
    “Here, drink this, slowly.” He handed me the glass of water.
    “ Oh, thank you. I’m so thirsty.” Immediately, I sipped down the water. What a disappointment. It was lukewarm and not what I expected. I rolled my tongue over the roof of my mouth, repulsed by the taste of the water. “Can I please get some bottled water?”
    “ Bottled water? I do not—”
    I chimed in. “Never mind. Thanks anyway. I guess this will do.” I took another sip of the lukewarm water and almost gagged.
    A distressed look crossed over his aging, yet handsome face. “Our water supply is not fully restored. I apologize. The well was severely damaged by those nincompoops.”
    Nincompoops? Gangs? I wondered.
    “ Oh...it’s okay.” I knitted my brows together, braving down another sip. I wondered if the water could have been contaminated.
    Woman dies at a local hospital, not from falling into a well, but from drinking water from it.
    “Miss Eden, the hospital has been trying to locate your next of kin. It has not been an easy task.”
    “ Why not?” I asked, grimacing when my lips tightened. They felt extremely dry, as if they would split.
    “ So they can visit with you...we thought you would want them to know—”
    I interjected, “Yes, of course, but there’s no reason for them to travel so far now. I’m feeling better. Well, all but this headache.”
    “I understand,” he said then added, “shouldn’t you allow them to make that decision? I am sure they would want to be here for you.”
    “ Yes, I’m sure they would want to be, but even so, it would take hours for them to arrive—they live in New York City. By the time they book flights, I’ll be home,” I said, feeling puzzled. A panic-stricken thud hit against the inside wall of my chest.
    Am I going to die? I was afraid to ask. I didn’t understand the urgency of my